x
Beta Member

What's the most efficient way to set up liquor items/variations in Square?

The title of this thread has been edited from the original: Liquor Variations

 

Hi There - 

 

We are a new bar - but not new to Square.  We are trying to set up our items/variations/menus in the most efficient way for both the bartenders and us (for tracking)

 

For example:

 

Category:   Vodka

Item:           Grey Goose

Variation:    ??

Modification:  Cranberry, Soda, Martini, etc.

 

A Grey Goose and Cran, is 1.5 oz of Vodka

A Grey Goose Martini is 3.0 oz of Vodka

 

How do I set it up using the decimal for ounces?

 

I know it is probably simple, but I can't seem to figure it out!

 

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

THANKS!

 

 

9,619 Views
Message 1 of 23
Report
1 Best Answer
Admin

Best Answer

Hi @Apt9F! Helen here stepping in for @ashc!

 

I'm not sure using decimal quantities is going to be the most efficient for your bar. At this time there isn't a way to apply a specific number of units to an item before it's sold. When you create a unit for an item you will be prompted to enter how many units are sold each time you ring up that item.

 

For example, if you create an item called Single and use the Ounce/Fluid Ounce unit > when you go to the Checkout section of the app and add a Single you'll be prompted to enter the number of units you're selling. In your case you'd enter 1.5 for a single, 3 for a Martini and so on. If that works for you that's great but I think it's not what you're looking for! 

 

It might be easier to create an item for each drink and use variations for the size or for the different versions, and _then_ add the brand as a modifier. There are a few different ways to set up items but I'd also recommend looking at reports on your Dashboard too you can see what's tracked and how.

️ Helen
Seller Community Manager

Did you find help in the Seller Community? Mark a Best Answer to help others.

View Best Answer >

9,419 Views
Message 6 of 23
Report
22 REPLIES 22
Square Community Moderator

Hey @Apt9F! Welcome to the Community.

 

Do you have an iOS device you're using for Point of Sale? Decimals is only available on iOS as of right now so that's why I ask.

Ashley C
Community Moderator, Square
Sign in and click Mark as Best Answer if my reply answers your question.
9,498 Views
Message 2 of 23
Report
Beta Member

Sorry - there seems to be an issue with me replying! 

 

We are using iOS - iPads and my Mac for set up. 

 

Thanks for the help!

9,490 Views
Message 3 of 23
Report
Square Community Moderator

@Apt9F No worries!

 

The way you'll want to set up decimals is by following these steps:

 

  1. Head to the Items page of your online Square Dashboard > Units.
  2. Click Add a Unit > Select Unit. You can choose to either select a preset unit, or create a custom unit.
  3. Next, set the unit precision. Note: The precision helps you keep track of your inventory and item sales price by allowing you to set the item count up to the ten-thousandths place (.00000).

Keep in mind, each custom unit type must have a unique name. Names are not case-sensitive.

Unit types will reflect on your customers’ receipts, as well as on your item and sales reports with Square. 

 

Note: When you update the Unit, your inventory counts will remain unchanged.

 

Another Note: There isn’t a way to set incremental minimums or maximums for unit types. For example, you will not be able to set an increment such as .5 that the quantity must increase or decrease by when adjusting quantity during checkout.

 

Hope this helps!

Ashley C
Community Moderator, Square
Sign in and click Mark as Best Answer if my reply answers your question.
9,489 Views
Message 4 of 23
Report
Beta Member

@ashc  - 

 

Thanks, but that does not really help me. 

 

If I wanted to set up a unit to equal, 1.5 oz of liquor, I see that I can set it as: 

 

Unit Name:  Single

Abbreviation:  S

Measure:  .0

 

Where does it calculate that it is 1.5 oz?  

 

Or is there an easier way? 

 

Thanks.

9,469 Views
Message 5 of 23
Report
Admin

Best Answer

Hi @Apt9F! Helen here stepping in for @ashc!

 

I'm not sure using decimal quantities is going to be the most efficient for your bar. At this time there isn't a way to apply a specific number of units to an item before it's sold. When you create a unit for an item you will be prompted to enter how many units are sold each time you ring up that item.

 

For example, if you create an item called Single and use the Ounce/Fluid Ounce unit > when you go to the Checkout section of the app and add a Single you'll be prompted to enter the number of units you're selling. In your case you'd enter 1.5 for a single, 3 for a Martini and so on. If that works for you that's great but I think it's not what you're looking for! 

 

It might be easier to create an item for each drink and use variations for the size or for the different versions, and _then_ add the brand as a modifier. There are a few different ways to set up items but I'd also recommend looking at reports on your Dashboard too you can see what's tracked and how.

️ Helen
Seller Community Manager

Did you find help in the Seller Community? Mark a Best Answer to help others.
9,420 Views
Message 6 of 23
Report
Beta Member

Thanks @Helen - 

 

You are correct, the first way would be terribly inefficient for our staff and look funny to our customer.  

 

I think that the Square may not be the answer for us - but Square for Restaurants may be too robust (and costly).  

 

Maybe I will search the forums to see how other bar owners have their systems set up.

 

Thanks again!

9,304 Views
Message 7 of 23
Report
Admin

You're welcome! Using decimal quantities with Square is a relatively new feature so I'll keep an eye out for workarounds that come up, and I'll keep an eye out for any tips shared from other bar owners here in the Community too! 

️ Helen
Seller Community Manager

Did you find help in the Seller Community? Mark a Best Answer to help others.
9,275 Views
Message 8 of 23
Report

@Apt9F 

We are currently going through the same issue.  How did you end up resolving?

 

Thanks!

8,784 Views
Message 9 of 23
Report

Very frustrating and it's a real issue for accurate Liquor sales.

 

My dilemma..

 

I have my system Units set as "Item"

 

Example -

I sell 1 item of Jack Daniels (equals 1 shot) for one price, it deducts one unit from inventory. All is well.

 

I have a variation set up for "Double" that sells for a higher price, but it only reduces inventory by 1 unit.  There is no way to make the value of the unit 2.

 

When you look at reports, it shows how many  you sold as Regular and Double, but you have to adjust your inventory every night, manually,  to account for the extra unit that was sold as a double.

 

You really do not want to have your bartender trying to enter ounces or be forced to have to enter 2" as a quantity because if your bar is super busy, you will have tons of mis-rings and mistakes and probably lose alot of money.  I need my bartenders to be able to just push a button, let the system do it's job.  AND, I need for my inventory to be counting  the doubles properly or we may run out of something in the midst of a rush and the system still thinks we have inventory.

 

You can't add this as an additional item because all of your single or double pours come from this same bottle.. you have no idea in advance, how many single or doubles you will sell in one night so you have to be able to pull from the same inventory.

 

Is there an answer at this time?  I see this question was first brought up in July of 2019.

 

Solution is to add ability to set the quantity of units per item and have that quantity subtract from the total inventory on hand of an item.  

 

Can anyone say if this can be fixed or made available?  It's a real issue for busy bars selling lots of whiskey/tequila shots/drinks.

 

Thank you 🙂

8,731 Views
Message 10 of 23
Report
Admin

Hey @AbbeyRd-

 

I understand your frustration here. I realize this is not ideal for your business and inventory tracking.

 

Perhaps our Super Sellers @ryanwanner @ACAcatering or @Ron have some suggestions on a workaround in the meantime. I will definitely post in this thread when I hear an update on this feature request. Thank you for your time. 

️ Isabelle | she/her
Seller Community & Super Seller Program Manager | Square, Inc.
Learn about the Super Seller program!
8,208 Views
Message 11 of 23
Report
Beta Member

Hey There -

 

Sorry for the delay in replying. 

 

We ended up going with Square for Restaurants and did a third-party integration with MarketMan.  They reduced the price for us and waived some onboarding.  

 

MarketMan was great - but far too robust (and labor-intensive) for a small operation like us - so we are doing it the old fashioned way: counting bottles and knowing our staff. 

 

Not sure how big or your volume, but you may want to check into them!

 

 

8,197 Views
Message 12 of 23
Report
Beta Member

We have the same issues. Having to manually calculate inventory is not ideal. I do not have time for that. For stocking purposes, I require my employees to set empty liquor bottles in a designated area rather than tossing them in the trash. Each day I check the empties to see what they went through and keep backstock. Definitely not ideal.

8,069 Views
Message 13 of 23
Report
Beta Member

This system is definitely complicated when it comes to setting up liquor. Did you get a solution?

8,068 Views
Message 14 of 23
Report
Alumni

Hi @fairwayswv,

 

No other work around as of yet. Our teams are constantly looking through our seller's feedback to make necessary improvements, and we will be sure to let you know if anything ever changes or if new updates are released. 

Alex_
Community Moderator, Square // Moderador de la Comunidad, Square
Sign in and click Mark as Best Answer if my reply answers your question.
Inicie seción y haga clic en Marcar como "Mejor Respuesta" si mi respuesta contesta su pregunta.
8,048 Views
Message 15 of 23
Report

I am setting up our mixed drinks on our POS. We use 1 1/2 ounce pours. I want to decrement our inventory with each sale. Since we get 16.9 pours in a 750ml bottle at 1 1/2 ounce pours, I am thinking of setting the inventory for a bottle at 16.9 and selling unit at per item. Each sale would deduct 1 out of the 16.9 stock units. Does that sound like a work around for the lack of .5 decimal? A double would be sold as 2 units. 

6,852 Views
Message 16 of 23
Report
Beta Member

Only problem is drinks like a lemon drop that takes 2oz of vodka....
This is big problem, and there is no real excuse for them not to be working on it except that they don't perceive an additional revenue stream with the enhancement.

I mean, you could call it commodity sales, and charge me $10/mo for it and I'd be happy.  Just get off your hands and give your customers the attention they deserve.... Or they'll move to Toast, or another platform that has this most basic functionality.

2,046 Views
Message 17 of 23
Report

All you need is an ingredient tracker - I suggest looking at the KOBAS system software as there inventory and ingredient tracking is excellent and not complicated at all.  I really do no understand how this is not a feature on Square?

Steven Lee
1,685 Views
Message 18 of 23
Report
Beta Member

Any progress square?  How do you expect a restaurant with a bar to survive when you don't offer this kind of standard feature?
We can't track inventory....?   Really.....?

1,069 Views
Message 19 of 23
Report

Yeah what is up Square? I am looking for a way to accurately track cider sales by the ounce at my winery.

I cannot figure out a way for Square to just add up my ounces sold at the end of the month, because I cannot figure out how to do the variations and options for dozens of kinds of ciders and winers sold at different serving sizes. For three years I have had to make a new item for each different beverage and serving size, so each beverage has like 4 items and I scroll through a super long list of items.

I have to manually calculate everything at the end of the month which is a huge pain in my ashtabula.

And as afar as somehow trying to keep track of inventory before it disappears...forget about it.

 

Come on Square.

974 Views
Message 20 of 23
Report
Square Community Moderator

Hey @TheCrazyAxe,

 


Thank you for being a member of the Community.

 

We do not have any update at this time.Please share your suggestions in our Ideate Room here.

 

Our Product Team keeps an eye on this forum as they are constantly improving our products based on feedback like this.

947 Views
Message 21 of 23
Report